Texas Almanac for 1861.—It may be of interest to collectors to note that there were two editions of Richardson's Texas Almanac for 1861, each containing 336 pages, including advertisements. The principal differences between the two editions are in the preface and in the contents on page 242 and pages 246-52, inclusive. The preface of the edition which seems to be the earlier is undated and unsigned; the preface of the later is signed Richardson and Company, Galveston, November 1, 1860. Paragraph two of the earlier preface contains two sentences which are omitted in paragraph two of the later regarding statistics not available for the first issue. Paragraph four of the later edition also omits the two final sentences of the earlier regarding the failure to receive census reports and county statistics. Paragraph five of the earlier edition promises a second edition; paragraph five of the later treats of the county statistics included in this issue and promises a supplementary sheet as soon as the census reports are received.
Page 242 of the first edition contains a report of the Washington County Railroad Company; page 242 of the second, a list of the District Judges and Attorneys and an article regarding the commerce of Indianola. The United States statistics on pages 246-52, inclusive, of the earlier edition are omitted entirely in the second. The corresponding pages in the later edition contain a list of the county officers, an abstract of the treasurer's report for the year ending August 31, 1860, an article upon river and harbor improvements, a report of the Washington Railroad Company (found on page 242 of the earlier), a list of newspapers in Texas, brief directories of the Supreme Court of Texas and the United States District Courts in Texas, and the penitentiary report for the year ending September 1, 1860.
Elizabeth H. West .
How to cite:
West, Elizabeth R., "Texas Almanac", Volume 016, Number 4, Southwestern Historical Quarterly Online, Page 435 - 436. http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/publications/journals/shq/online/v016/n4/review_31.html
[Accessed Sun Nov 23 2:46:34 CST 2008]
